Jesse Hughes says his new covers album has helped him cope with the trauma of the Bataclan attack.
The musician was playing at the venue in Paris with his band Eagles of Death Metal when armed terrorists wearing suicide vests opened fire at their show on November 13, 2015, and killed 89 people and the 46-year-old musician has revealed that his new record – which was released under his pseudonym Boots Electric – helped him cope with "every bad feeling from then".
Speaking to the Daily Star newspaper’s Wired column, he said: "This is the playlist that walked me out of every bad feeling from then. I wanted to put a lot onto making this album so I could get those feelings out."
‘Eagles Of Death Metal Presents Boots Electric Performing The Best Songs We Never Wrote’ will see the star cover the likes of KISS and AC/DC but the ‘Don’t Speak’ hitmaker explained that he took a "chance" on some of the more unexpected tracks on the record, such as Mary J. Blige’s 2001 hit ‘Family Affair’.
He said: "There are some songs people told me I couldn’t do. But in taking a chance and doing them I’ve performed better than I ever have."
The new LP will also see Jesse perform Guns N’ Roses’ classic song ‘It’s So Easy’ but despite the ‘I Want You So Hard’ singer covering the track, Jesse revealed that the band’s frontman Axl Rose sill isn’t his biggest fan after he kicked Jesse off their joint tour in 2006.
He said: "You want an ass**** to hate you, but I still get laid off that dude hating me. Every Christmas I invite him to do a Christmas song with me, and I believe he’ll say yes one day. If he called me to do a duet I would be there in a heartbeat."